Scientists at the Institute of Microstructure Technology (IMT; www.imt.kit.edu/english) at the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT) in Germany have now come up with an innovative solution to cleaning oil spills. The so-called “nanofur” emulates the leaves of the Salvinia water fern, which remain dry under water. By studying this “Salvinia effect”, the researchers were able to copy the fern’s arrangement of microstructures onto a plastic foil whose structure and surface were modified to absorb oil while repelling water. To enable this effect, plastic microhairs are distributed heterogeneously around craters on the surface. The scientists say the entire surface of the polymer foil can be used for oil-water separation.

The mould insert is said to be comparatively easy to produce and can be accomplished on a large-scale, too. First, a steel plate is sand-blasted to generate small craters in micrometre and nanometre size. That then constitutes the mould onto which a polymer foil is placed. After the steel mould is heated and removed from the heat, the hot plastic draws threads, which create the nanofur.

KIT is currently working on a prototype and looking for partners for product development.

e-Service:
Presentation on “Nanofur for Biomimetic Applications” as a PDF file